Rome, Italy, Oct 19, 2004 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The Foreign Affairs Minister of Italy and candidate for justice minister on the European Commission, Rocco Buttiglione, denounced the existence of an “anti-Christian inquisition” in Europe and a “campaign of hate” against him that twists and distorts his public statements.

“Buttiglione must be disqualified, no matter what, and this does not bode well for democracy. This doesn’t help you to understand Buttiglione,” the Catholic public official said, speaking about himself.

In interviews with the Corriere della Sera and La Stampa, Buttiglione blamed the matter on the European Parliament, a “new anti-Christian inquisition” and “a sort of ‘Berufsverbot’ against Christians.”

Buttiglione explained that the “Berfusverbot,” established in 1972 by Willy Brandt, prohibited those who were part of the leftist groups in Germany from access to public employment.

A few days ago, Buttiglione, a Catholic philosopher and author of one of the first “intellectual biographies” on the thought of Pope John Paul II, spoke about the relationship between the US and Europe saying, “Children who have no father and only a mother are not children of a very good mother.”

The media used the statements to accuse Buttiglione of criticizing single mothers. Nevertheless, Buttiglione said his statements were distorted by the press, who were “putting words in my mouth that I did not say.”

Buttiglione said that in the case of the relationship between the US and Europe, “Children who only have a father are not children because a man all by himself can build a robot but not a child.”

He also said that he supports single mothers, “although it is obvious that if children have a father and a mother they are better off. That does not take away from my respect for those women who face the responsibility of educating and bringing up their children alone.”